Gather Together with 3 Ways to Distress a Project

Fall provides us with many opportunities to gather together with friends and family, both for the holidays and to enjoy the changing seasons. 

Fall also provides some wonderful visual inspiration for our projects. Today I offer you 2 cards, both made with Stampin'UP!'s Gather Together stamp set and matching Gathered Leaves Dies.

Its not just the colors of fall that provide inspiration - its also the richness of the textures. The second card is the same lay-out but with a more distressed look.

I used 3 different distressing techniques.

1. For the leaves I crumpled them in my hands and then flatted them out.
   Then I sponged over them with their own color ink. The raised wrinkles picked up the ink more than the lower areas to give each leaf its own unique coloring.
2. For the accent strips:   I dragged my scissors along the edge to give it a rough distressed look
   I LOVE my Stampin'UP! paper snips. The thin blade is perfect for this technique.
   Yesterday's post showed another project where I was loving my paper snips.
3. For the background: I randomly sponged on some Versamark Ink. You could achieve the same look by sponging on Crumbcake.

ProTIP:  You have to use an art sponge, a kitchen sponge is too rigid.  I cut my sponges up into wedges. To save them for re-use I also mark which color is on the sponge. Just staple a strip of the matching cardstock to the small end of the wedge. As a bonus the paper works as a handle to help keep your fingers clean.

Do you have a good versatile leaf stamp set and dies?  If not I encourage you to take a close look at the Gather Together stamp set and the Gathered Leaves Dies.  They can each be purchased separately, but now through December you can save 10% when you buy them as a bundle. Full product list is at the end of the post.

Here are a couple of other cards made with the Gather Together Bundle.
Click an image to see the post that describes that project.

  

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you got some fun ideas to try on your fall projects.
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Gather Together Bundle [153036] - $38.50	Pretty Label Punch [143715] - $18.00	Stamping Sponges [141337] - $4.00	Gold Faceted Gems [144141] - $5.00	Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133676] -$8.75	Mossy Meadow Classic Ink Pad [147111] - $7.50
Mango Melody 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146989] - $8.75	Mango Melody Classic Ink Pad [147093] - $7.50	Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131199] - $8.75	Crushed Curry Classic Ink Pad [147087] - $7.50	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [120953] - $8.75	Versamark Pad [102283] - $9.50
Paper Snips [103579] - $10.00	Gather Together Stamp Set [150589] - $17.00	Gathered Leaves Dies [150662] - $26.00